Alibaba seeks leaner loan for Yahoo acquisition bid
The Chinese company is considering a number of acquisition options for the Web pioneer, including the possibility of a total purchase.
The Alibaba Group is working on securing billions of dollars to aid the company in acquiring all or part of Yahoo, a new report claims.
Citing "people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg is reporting today that China's Alibaba is planning to take out a $3 billion loan for its Yahoo bid. Initially, the publication's sources says, the company was planning on a $4 billion loan.
For months now, rumors have suggested Alibaba is planning to make an acquisition bid for Yahoo. In September, the company's CEO, Jack Ma, told an audience at Stanford University that he was "very interested" in acquiring the search giant. Soon after, reports suggested Alibaba was considering both going it alone and working with investment firms to make the deal happen.
Talk of Alibaba inching towards a Yahoo buyout heated up late last year when the company hired Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Duberstein Group. The move was widely viewed as a key component in facilitating regulatory approval for any deal the company might make with Yahoo.
Whether or not Yahoo will take any offer, though, remains to be seen. The company's board of directors has been willing to field offers, but so far, it hasn't accepted anything. Meanwhile, it has hired a new CEO, Scott Thompson, which might indicate it's not eying a full buyout. To further complicate things, Yahoo currently owns 40 percent of Alibaba, and it's not clear Yahoo would want to flip things around.
Even so, that hasn't stopped Alibaba from pressing forward. According to Bloomberg's sources, the company is considering a range of deals.
Yahoo did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on Alibaba's latest moves.